Men's Cross Country Results from Bill Libby Invitational
ABILENE, Texas – The University of Dallas men's cross country team began the 2016 season on Friday at the Bill Libby Invitational. As a team, the Crusaders finished in seventh place with 159 points and averaged a time of 18:48.20 minutes in the 5k race.
South Plains College prevailed in the team rankings with an average time of 15:22 and 19 points. South Plains also recorded four runners as many places at the top of the individual leader board. Angelo State University took second with an average time of 16:28.60 minutes and 79 points. Ranger College rounded out the trio of teams below 100 points with 88 and averaged a time of 16:42.20 to take third.
A number of UD debuts were made tonight including: freshmen John James (Metairie, La.), Andrew Maal (Pueblo, Colo.), Andrew Mitch (Toronto, Ohio), and sophomore Thomas Hogan (St. Louis, Mo.)
NOTABLE CRUSADER TIMES:
- Freshman John James (Metairie, La.) highlighted UD's fastest time with a 16:32 for 14th in the standings. It was a personal record in his first ever 5k.
- Hogan also etched a top-20 finish in his first collegiate meet with a 16:42 for 17th.
- Junior Peter deTar (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho) cracked a personal best of 18:44 minutes.
- Freshman Andrew Maal (Pueblo, Colo.) and senior Matt Klem (Livermore, Calif.) contributed times on 19:25 and 20:30 minutes, respectively.
COACH BARBER'S REACTION
"The two things we worked on today: we grouped the team into smaller units that would be racing together through the first mile and a half/two miles, then they could start to string out naturally. And the other was approaching the first mile very conservatively; running in this heat is not fun and if we approached the first mile conservatively and ran well with our teammates we were going to finish strong. I am proud with how the team ran; there is obvious room for improvement, but they raced this course well. We now have a good baseline going forward to the TLU meet in a couple of weeks." -Head Coach Matthew Barber on Friday's Goals for the Competition
UP NEXT
Dallas enjoys a weekend off and is back in action on September 17 at the Texas Lutheran Bulldog Invitational.